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The new Tokuryu criminal group is unsettling the people of Japan. These are the most important facts about it.
It’s all about this: In Japan, police are currently battling a new criminal threat: the Tokuryu. These groups are said to be on the rise and are replacing the Japanese mafia – also known as the Yakuza.
This is what the term “Tokuryu” means: The term is made up of two Japanese words: “tokumei” and “ryudo” – in German “anonymous” and “fluent”. This refers to the peculiarities of these semi-gangsters, namely that they do not operate as a solid gang. They organize themselves at short notice via the Darknet for individual crimes and only join forces temporarily. Often they didn’t know each other before – and then they drift apart again.
These are the members: “The members of the Tokuryu are almost exclusively young men who are unemployed, poor or discriminated against,” says Martin Fritz, a freelance journalist in Tokyo. They would brag on social media that they were only interested in money, alcohol and women. “You are available as contract criminals. A year ago, for example, a client recruited 16 to 19 year olds through an ad on the dark web. They then robbed a jewelry store in the middle of Tokyo for him.” The client is still unknown today, says Fritz.
Difference from Yakuza: The Yakuza are classic criminal gangs. In the West they are particularly well known through Japanese gangster films. These are organized gangs with a hierarchical structure and a social code. This states that Yakuza crimes should not affect people from the rest of society. The Tokuryu, on the other hand, are not organized: “They are independent individual entrepreneurs who are ready for any outrageous act,” says Fritz. Whether in robberies or burglaries, there is no “morality”. “That’s exactly why the police are so alarmed. Citizens feel less safe.”
The Yakuza in decline: The number of members of the traditional Yakuza has shrunk from around 100,000 members to around 20,000 over the last thirty years. “This is due to the anti-yakuza laws and regulations. “A gang member can no longer rent an apartment, open a bank account, or even sign a cell phone contract,” says Fritz. In addition, semi-legal Yakuza companies, such as construction companies, no longer received any orders. “Young people in the criminal world therefore no longer become members of the Yakuza, but instead work as independent semi-gangsters.” According to Fritz, the Yakuza do not disappear completely. It is often Yakuza members who then commission these new half-gangsters to commit crimes. The police then speak of hybrid crimes.
This is what the police are doing about it: The National Police Agency (NPA) set up a joint investigation unit in April with 500 investigators in seven prefectures – Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka. The Japanese government has now also reacted. In March 2023, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered a crackdown on this type of crime. However, identifying the masterminds of these crimes proves difficult. Technological advances and the use of disposable phones and numbers allow them to remain anonymous.